Do certain exercises exacerbate varicose veins? I run on the treadmill and do the Precor, and afterwards my varicose veins get even more pronounced.

Your veins get more pronounced because, after exercising, there is still blood in your leg muscles that hasn't been pumped back to your heart. (Note: Varicose veins are caused by the breakdown of tiny, one-way valves in the veins that keep gravity from preventing blood in our legs from returning to the heart.)

One way to prevent the pooling of blood in your legs is to make sure you do a proper cool-down. Reduce the intensity of your exercise five or ten minutes before the end of your workout. As your pace slows, your heart rate will remain elevated even though the demand for oxygen in your muscles is diminished. This will help keep blood moving back toward your heart. As you continue the activity at a lower level, the muscles involved will contract and relax, helping to mechanically pump blood toward the heart. (This is especially true of cycling, because of the piston-like nature of the movement.)

The cool-down is not over when the exercise ends -- stretch the muscles you have just used. Your quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus and calves have all been involved in the work you've just completed. Your heart rate will continue to fall, and the stretching will help relax your muscles and make it easier for blood to flow back to the heart.

Blood carries oxygen to working muscles. Do abdominal or upper body exercises and the blood will be diverted to the new set of muscles being recruited -- and it won't stay in your legs as long.

Try propping your legs up higher than your heart while lying down and let gravity help drain the excess blood. (This is a trick bicycle racers use.) If you can, stay off of your feet, but avoid sitting still for long periods of time immediately after your workout.

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